ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia's women's basketball team put up a 21-12 overall record in 2008-09, taking eighth place in the Northern Sun Conference after going 11-9 in league play.  Although the team had some ups and downs throughout the year's campaign, the Golden Bears peaked at the end of the season and finished the year playing strong.  FINAL RELEASE

The Golden Bears had several things to boast about following the end of their run.  They won 21 games on the year to set the program mark at seven straight seasons with 20 or more wins.  This year’s squad also reached statistical highwaters in several categories.  They hit 247 three-point shots, connected on 72.7% (449-618) of their free throws and pulled down 1,331 rebounds, setting new school records in each category.

As the season began to wind down, the Golden Bears found themselves in a must-win situation down the stretch in order to make the NSIC tournament.  They were seated around tenth in the league standings with just a handful of games remaining on the regular season docket.  From that point, Concordia won six of its last seven conference games, overtaking three teams seated above them in the NSIC standings.

The Golden Bears used much improved shooting to make their bid for the NSIC Tournament, having never missed a previous opportunity for the postseason.  They out-shot their opponents in the majority of these games and hit 50% more three-pointers than their competitors.  Concordia also made some headway in their rebounding game, coming out ahead on the boards in six of the seven games.

The Golden Bears took a burst of momentum into the opening round of the NSIC Tournament, which was much-needed as they were matched up with the league’s top team.  Before going on to win the 2009 NCAA DII National Championship, the Mavericks of Minnesota State looked to host the season’s NSIC Tournament.  They were granted home court advantage in the quarterfinals against Concordia on March 4, entering the game ranked #1 in the nation.  The Golden Bears ruined the Mavericks’ first postseason experience as members of the NSIC, pulling out a tremendous 86-77 win.

It took an overtime period to seal the deal, but the CU women were not going to have their season end at the hands of Minnesota State two years in a row.  The Golden Bears rocketed out to a hot start while MSU, one of the nation’s best field goal shooting teams, played lukewarm through the first half.  The villian from outside the arc was once again Kali Olstad, who hit four three-pointers to lead the team to a 44-34 halftime lead.  The Golden Bears shot 53.3% from the field in the first half while limiting MSU to just 37.5% shooting.  Although the Mavericks found a way to stifle CU’s offense and force an overtime period, the Golden Bears outscored the Mavericks 19-10 in the extra period.  Zoraa Quoie led the team with 20 points and seven assists, while Shandrell Duncan had her best night as a Golden Bear, pouring in 16 points and ripping away 15 boards.  Duncan’s rebound performance was the highest single game effort by a CU player this season.

After advancing out of the first round of tourney play, the Golden Bears moved on to the remainder of the title bout, moved to Winona State after the Maverick loss.  Concordia made it to their sixth NSIC Tournament championship game in seven years, avenging an earlier Augustana College loss with a 67-58 decision in the semifinals.  The Vikings were held to 33.8% shooting from the field, including an ice cold 1-13 three-point performance.  Jamie Jones topped the team’s scoring with 19 points, while Candace Olstad marked her season’s third double-double with ten points and rebounds each. 

The win over Augustana College on March 7 was also notable for Concordia head coach Paul Fessler.  The victory gave Fessler his 300th career victory through 13 years of coaching.  Fessler ended the season with a career record of 300-96.  He has brought Concordia to a record of 199-78 through nine seasons.

For the Golden Bears, the 2008-09 season ended in the NSIC Tournament championship round, where St. Cloud State made slightly few less errors to secure a league title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.  The Golden Bears saw a season low 27.9% field goal average develop into another season low, 41 points scored.  The Huskies only shot 25.9% from the field, but hit 21 free throws to secure the 53-41 win.

Although they finished the season in Winona, the Golden Bear year started out across the country in Anaheim, Calif. Nov. 7-9.  Concordia brought a fresh-faced squad to the Disney Tip-Off Classic.  With only five players returning from the 2007-08 roster but filling the lineup with physical talent, CU went 2-1 on the trip with visits to Disneyland and plenty of time for the players to gel as a team.

The next action for the team came on their home turf when they hosted the Wildwood Lodge Tip-Off Classic.  Wins came against Metro State and UW-La Crosse to put their record at 5-1.  It became clear from the start that the success of the team would rest largely on the performance of its guards.  The backcourt fired shots from long range as a constant barrage against their opponents.  Jamie Jones guided the team to an 8-2 start with 14.9 ppg, shooting 45% from the field and hitting nearly two triples per game.

The month of December saw conference action kick into gear.  Concordia went 3-1 in league play before hitting winter break non-conference games.  They rattled off three more wins to improve to 11-3.  A big game came on December 21 for leading forward Candace Olstad.  The senior reached the 1,000 point mark of her career in a game against Valley City State.  Olstad not only became the 22nd member of CU’s 1,000 Point Club, she also recorded a career high 27 points to land directly on the milestone.  Olstad finished her career at CU with 1,267 points, which ranks 14th all-time.

The new year brought play as cold as the January weather for the Golden Bear effort.  They re-opened NSIC play on the 3rd at St. Cloud State and went just 2-7 throughout the month.  The team’s scoring average dipped to 61.8 ppg in January as a result of a 35.2% field goal average.  Rebounding was also a problem, as the Golden Bears came away behind on the glass in seven of these nine games.  Three-pointers continued to fall during this stretch, but at a much lower rate than they had seen in the past.  A low point during the month came on Jan. 16 against Minnesota State, ranked #3 in the nation at the time.  The Golden Bears could not buy a bucket, going 0-for-20 from long range and being out-rebounded by 16 boards against the Mavericks.

Candace Olstad played with true consistency during this rough patch, leading the team with 13.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg.  She hit double figures in scoring in all but two games and had 17 or more points in each of the final four games of January.  Zoraa Quoie began to emerge as an assist leader for the Golden Bears, surpassing Jamie Jones for the team dime lead.  With virtually unparalled speed, Quoie also gained ground in the NSIC for steals, taking 25 away from opponents in the month.  She also had bursts of scoring and put up 11.4 ppg.

As January drew to a close and the Golden Bears realized what kind of hole they had to climb out of, things started to change for the better.  They started a run toward the postseason with an 81-65 win over Bemidji State, hitting nearly 50% of their field goals and sinking a season high 14 three-pointers with a 46.7% average from long range.  They made their bid for the NSIC Tournament with wins in six of their final seven NSIC games.

Highlighting the run toward the postseason were home wins against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.  A  72-55 win over #21 MSU Moorhead on the road sent a message to the conference that Concordia was not a team to be overlooked.  
The Golden Bears then won their 20th game of the season with the shocking upset over #1 Minnesota State in the NSIC quarterfinals to prove that the previous games were not flukes.

The team’s leading scorer for the season was Candace Olstad with 13.4 ppg.  Olstad reached double figures in scoring 25 times on the year and had three double-doubles.  She was matched for a team high 6.4 rebounds per game.

Another leading forward this season was junior Shandrell Duncan, who came on especially strong in the Golden Bear front court toward the end of the year.  Duncan had 6.1 rpg and lit up opponents with 55 blocked shots, which sets a new single season school record.  Finishing second in the league for blocks, Duncan swatted a personal best five blocks in five different games this season.

Gillian Bjerke was matched for the team rebounding lead with 6.4 per game.  She contributed 8.6 ppg to the CU scoring effort and had 30 blocked shots.

Concordia finished second in the NSIC in 2008-09 for three-point field goals per game, sinking 7.48 per game.  Kali Olstad hit 73 of the team’s school record 247 threes on the year.  This mark is the second highest single season mark in CU history behind Angie Jacox with 90. 

Another three-point threat and the team’s main point guard on the year was Jamie Jones.  Jones came in second for scoring this season with 11.7 ppg, nailing 58 three-pointers.  Jones also had 133 assists and 51 steals.

Zoraa Quoie was an attacking guard who averaged 11.6 ppg and got to the free throw often, hitting 117 charity stripes on the season.  Quoie was ranked sixth in the league with 4.39 assists per game, accumulating a team high 145 dimes.  She came in fourth in the NSIC with 81 steals.

Also contributing time and making 15 starts as a freshman was guard Kelly Supernaw.  Supernaw averaged 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game with 25.2 minutes of court time per contest, showing great strides from her first collegiate games.

The Golden Bears graduate only two players from this year’s roster, Candace Olstad and Abby Nielsen.  Olstad finished her career with 10.1 ppg and 1,267 total points scored.  She had 676 total rebounds, 134 assists, 84 blocks and 98 steals.  Olstad shot 48.5% from the field in her time as a Golden Bear.  Nielsen competed three years with Concordia after transferring in as a sophomore.  She scored 251 points in the blue and gold, canning 52 three-pointers and grabbing 170 rebounds.  She played in 27 games this season, averaging a career high nine minutes per game.

Candace Olstad and Zoraa Quoie were both named to the 2009 All-NSIC Second Team.  Among other All-Tournament Team honors gained throughout the season, the Golden Bears had two athletes named to the 2009 NSIC All-Tournament Team.  Candace Olstad and Jamie Jones were honored for helping their team to the chase for another NSIC title.